Rune's Family
by Ninjagirly
Summary: Rune has never given her real family much thought until her mother, Skakira, comes to her in a dream and reviles she has a father and an older brother along with other family members. Rune, of course, jumps to meet her real family, but what are they like
1. The Dream

Ninjagirly: Ninj here to tell ya all that I'm happy to be writing stories again! I hope you all like this story! I've had this idea buzzing in my head for awhile now.

Chapter one: Rune's Dream

Rune felt strange as she walked through a forest-like place. She thought she recognized the place but then again, maybe she was wrong?

"Hello, my angel," said a soft, loving voice. Rune turned and gasped. It was her lovely mother, Skakira.

"M-Mother?"

Skakira laughed. "Yes, 'Rune.'" Rune smiled when she used her new name. "Do you recognize this place?"

"Should I?"

"Oh, hon. I showed you pictures before when you were little. Well... I suppose you were quite young..."

Rune looked around then remembered. "This is the West side of Madagascar...?"

"Yes! You _do_ remember!" Skakira said happily.

"Huh... Well... Why are you showing me this place anyways?"

"Lil Rune... have you ever thought of your father...?"

"My father?" Rune repeated. She paused and put her fist to her cheek. "No. Not since... well, now. I always sorta assumed he was... dead..."

"He isn't dead, sweetie..."

"R-Really?!"

"Yeah... You have a father... and an older brother along with some aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins."

"Woah, woah, woah, Ma...! You're gonna get me a heart attack! Is that possible in a dream?" Rune's eyes widened. "I have blood relatives!! That's just... amazing!!"

Skakira laughed. "I'm glad you're taking this well. I thought you would be mad at me..."

"I could never be mad at you, Ma! I'm sure there's a reason you didn't tell me sooner. It's no big deal. I know now and that's all that matters!" Skakira smiled. "So, you're telling me my family's in Madagascar? I just have to meet them!"

"Then go, Rune. I'll be watching from above, okay?"

Rune nodded then hugged her mom tightly. "Okay. I love you, Ma."

"I love you too, my angel." Slowly, Skakira began to disappear and Rune felt herself slip from her dream. She wanted to stay, but she couldn't. She needed to wake up and tell the others...

---

Ninj: Sooo~ How is it so far? Anyone going, "What's gonna happen next? WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT!??!" LOL!! XD Don't worry, I'll have another one up soon~!

**If you truly like it, please comment!! ^w^**


	2. Getting Ready

Ninj: Okay! Here's the next chapter! From here on, I'm gonna use two of my friend's OCs, Maverick and Scout. They belong to M. Slayer. Okay, here we go~

Chapter two: Getting Ready

As soon as Rune had woken up, she told all her friends of her dream and why she needed to go to Madagascar.

"I don't know, Rune... Your mother came in a dream and told you that you have family elsewhere?" Skipper said. "What if Blowhole or an enemy spy used some sort of weapon to make your dream?"

"Okay, first, Blowhole isn't that smart and two, it wasn't no regular dream," Rune told him sternly. "I could feel the wind! I could taste the air!"

Maverick the wolf, one of Rune's best friends, went wide eyed. "I want a dream like that! Expect, it'd be about apples and... and coffee!!" Scout, a fellow wolf and friend of Rune, rolled her eyes and sighed.

Rune turned to Kowalski. "Kowalski, you believe that it wasn't just a dream, right?" Everyone looked at Kowalski and waited for an answer.

"Um... Ah... Well, science..." Rune looked at him with her pouty face. He smiled nervously. "I'll start on the plans for our transportation!"

"Oh, thank you, Kowalski!" Rune shouted, hugging him tightly.

***

It took awhile, but Kowalski had finally made a pretty descent airplane, unlike the one they made back in Africa. The only thing left was to decide who was going.

"Okay, so me, Rune...," Kowalski started.

"I'll go," Maverick said, lifting his paw and waving it excitedly. "I want to see what Rune's real family looks like!"

"I want to go. I could use a vacation," Scout said. "Life at the zoo can be pretty stressful."

"We'll me, Rico and Private are going. We can't have our friends traveling in dangerous territory alone," Skipper told them.

"Oh! Oh! I wanna go too!" Chip shouted, jumping up and down wildly.

"No way! Absolutely not! Like Skipper said, its dangerous territory," Rune said to her son, "Steve is coming over soon to baby sit you."

"Aww... I don't wanna be baby sitted...," he whined.

"Sorry, Chip, but you are," Kowalski said. "We can't have you running around Madagascar."

"Did someone say Madagascar?" said a voice. Everyone turned to see the three annoying lemurs along with the Tyler. "I, your king, shall be coming too!"

"No way!!" Maverick shouted. Rune thought quickly.

"No, he can come," she said.

"What?!?" Everyone gasped.

Julien threw his hands in the air. "Ah-ha!! Yes!"

"Oh one condition... you sign a contract."

"Yes! ...Wait... What type of contract?"

Rune turned to Kowalski. "May I?" He nodded and handed her his notebook and pencil and she quickly wrote something down. Then, with a smirk, she handed it to Julien.

He began to read it out loud, "I, King Julien, here by swear to obey Rune and her friends and husband and must do whatever they say. If not, I risk the lost of my... boombox?! No! This is not to be happening!"

"Fine," Rune said shrugging. "Guess you're not coming."

"W-Wait! I...I'll sign it..." Rune smiled as Julien signed the contract.

"Okay. I guess we have everyone. Let's go, peoples! My family is waiting!" Rune shouted happily.

---

Ninj: Yay! There's chap 2! Hoped you liked it! Don't worry. It starts getting a lot better in the next chapters. Okay, don't forget to review!!


	3. Plane Crash

Ninj: Here's where the action and suspense comes in. Yay for action and suspense!! Oh, and I had a section missing last chapter, but I fixed it, so you all might want to check it out! ^^;

Chapter three: Plane Crash

"Alright. We should be there in a few minutes thanks to the rockets I installed onto the plane," Kowalski stated.

"Is that safe?" Private asked in a worried tone.

"Pah! Safety is for girls," Skipper told him. Rune and Scout glared at him. "What?" Scout just shook her head.

"I have a feeling something bad is about to happen...," Scout muttered to herself. Rune was having the same feeling, but it wasn't about the plane. She turned and stared out the window. _I haven't meant my real family before... I wonder if they'll even like me..._ Rune sighed depressingly. _What am I doing? I was all hyped up about going but now... _

"Rune...?" The voice made Rune jump. She turned to see Kowalski with a worry expression on his face. "Are you feeling okay? If it's about the rockets, I'll have you know that I double checked my calculations twice!" Rune smiled weakly.

"Oh no, Kowalski. It isn't that! I have total faith in you! It's just..." her voice trailed off. Kowalski placed his flippers on her paws.

"It's just what?" Rune remained silent. "Rune... You know you can tell me anything..."

"What if my family doesn't like me?" she questioned hastily. "What if they don't want me...?"

"Oh Rune... Of course they'll like you. What's not to like?" he asked.

"....." Rune didn't say anything.

"And they will want you. If they don't, they aren't all that smart."

"Thanks, Kowalski...," she said, nuzzling Kowalski.

"Urg. Your lovey dovey love is making me feel nauseous," Julien complained. "Maurice! Make me a smoothie to get this gagging taste from my mouth!"

Before Maurice could reply, Maverick did. "How's about you, Julien, make me, Scout, they guys and Rune a smoothie instead?"

Julien huffed. "...Only to keep my precious boomybox..." Just then, the plane started to shake.

"What's going on?!" Scout shouted.

"We seem to be, ah... crashing...," Kowalski said. Rune looked at him. "Okay... Maybe I didn't really check my calculations..."

The plane started to spiral, flinging its passengers around like rag dolls. Just barley, the plane made it to land, but at the speed it was going, it didn't stop, even when it smashed against trees. One tree had torn a hole in the plane and it tried to suck everyone out. Some of them managed to hold on, but a few couldn't.

Rune lost her grip on the seat and flew down to where the hole. With luck, though, she was able to grab on to someone's flipper. She opened her eyes and saw Kowalski holding on to her paw. "Kowalski!" she gasped.

"Don't worry, Rune. I got you," he told her.

"Aaaah!!" shouted Maverick as he fell to the whole. Rune swung over and grabbed his leg. "Oh geez!" he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Kowalski's grip on the seat was beginning to slip. Rune noticed this. "Kowalski, I'm going to swing Maverick over to you, okay?"

"What about you? If I try to grab Maverick, you'll fall out!"

"...I know..," she muttered.

"Rune, no!" both Kowalski and Maverick shouted. Too late. Rune threw Maverick to Kowalski as she fell out the plane.

"Oh no you don't!" Maverick shouted, wiggling from Kowalski and going after her. "Nooo!!"

Rune and Maverick hit the ground hard. The two rolled around a bit until finally stopping. Maverick was knocked out and Rune was barely conscious. She heard her name being called by Kowalski. Slowly, her eyes began to shut, and her consciousness slipped.

"Oh! Geez!" shouted a childish voice, "Hey, hey! Are you okay?!"

---

Ninj: Yeppers. Another cliff hanger~! What will happen next? Are Rune and Maverick really okay? What about the others? Who was the voice? WHY DO I ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS?! Find out in the next chap! ;) lol


	4. Seperated

Chapter four: Seperated

"Rune~ Wake up~," sang Maverick's voice. He shook Rune a bit and sang a little louder. "Wake up~!"

"WAKE UP!!" screamed a new voice. Rune instently jolted up. She saw Maverick along with a lemur child. "Geez, finally! I thought you were gonna go in a toma!"

"A coma?" Rune tried to correct.

"No... My name's Ai," said the lemur. She was very small and fagial looking. She had black tiped bangs, black paws and feet and her tail was grey along with most of her fur.

"No... I meant it's not called a 'toma' it's called a... 'coma'," Rune told her.

"Oh. Well, then why didn' tyou just say so?" Rune stared at the girl. "So, don't be rude! What's your name?"

"It's Rune."

"Rune," her childish voice repeated. Rune couldn't help but smile.

"She helped us out when we were knocked out," Maverick explained to his friend, "And she tended to our wounds1"

"That's 'ight," Ai said, "You both fell from the sky! Are you two.... sky spirirts?"

"No," Maverick told her, "We fell out of a plane."

"A plaine what?"

"...What?"

Rune laughed slightly. "A plane is a flying machine," she said to the child. "My husband-" That's when it hit her. "Oh my God! Everyone! Are they okay?! Where are they?!?!" Rune got to her feet, but got dizzy.

"Rune, you have to rest," Ai said.

"But... my friends.... and my husband...," Rune muttered before collasping on the ground. Tears fromed in her eyes and she quickly coered her face to advoid the other two to see. "...I need to find them..." A paw was placed on her back in comfort. Rune peeked upl to see Maverick. He looked just as sad as her.

"We _will _find them," he told her. He paused. "It won't do any good to search for them in our condition... We should wait till tomorrow, don't you think?"

Rune knew he was right... and if Maverick could stay strong, so could she! "That's right, Maverick! Until then, we'll regain our strenght and then find everyone!"

"Yeah!!" Maverick shouted before collasping.

"... -_-;"

Rune lifted Maverick up and carried him on her back. "I don't think we should be out in the open like this," she told Ai.

"You're right," the young lemur agreed, "C'mon, I'll show you where I live..."

***

Meanwhile, a few miles away, the others were just getting up. The plan was completely trashed, but everyone had mangaged to still be alive.

"Is everyone okay?' Skipper asked, rubbing his head.

"That depends what you would call 'okay'," Scout replied, cracking her akeing back.

"Role call!" Skipper shouted, "Rico?"

"Nng...," Rico moaned as he layed on the dirt ground. He lifted up his flipper.

"Good! Private?"

"Dizzy...," he said, sitting up, "But present."

"Execellente! Scout's here too. The lemures are present... Kowalski?" No reply. Skipper looked around and spotted the tall penguin. Kowalski had his face burried in his flippers. Scout looked around.

"Hey... Where's Maverick and Rune...? They're not here...," Scout pointed out.

"It's my fault... I could have done something...," Kowalski muttered.

"Kowalski, tell us what happened," Skipper ordered. Kowalski lifted his head up. He tried to be strong. He slowly and calmly explained what happened.

"Oh no!" Scout gasped, covering her mouth.

"Rune and Maverick are both strong. They'll be okay," Skipper explained, "They can watch eachother's backs."

"...Yeah...," Kowalski agreed slowly.

"We can not be staying here," Julien told them, "Fossas can be lurking everywhere!"

"I don't like Foosas...," Mort said, cowarding behind Julien.

"We need to rest in a tree," Maurice said.

"I'm a K-9, not a cat. How do you expect me to climb a tree?" Scout questioned.

"Do what we do," Pribate told her as he, Skipper and Rico jumped between two trees that were side by side.

"Riiiight..."

"Coming, Kowalski?" Private asked as Scout somehow managed to get up on the first branch.

Kowalski sighed before bending down and picking up his notebook and his pencil. "...Yeah. I'm coming..." _Don't worry you guys,_ Kowalski thought, _We're going to come for you..._

---

Ninj: Sorry it took me awhile to do this. XP I'm lazy and been busy. Oh! Guess what? Next chap will be when Rune meets one of her family members! ^^ I'll try to update soon! Ninjagilry out! ;P


	5. Meetings

Chapter five: Meetings

Renji was completely bored. Thought he had rather go out with his best friend, Kisuke, and flirt with girls, he was force to do patrol. He sighed.

"Quit sighing," scolded his other best friend, Ferra. She was a sassy ringtail lemur and the only girl he didn't constantly flirt with. "This is your job and it's about high time you start taking it seriously."

"Whatever. It's just, leading patrol is a bore!" The other lemurs behind him narrowed their eyes. "Whaaaaaaaat?!"

Meanwhile, Rune, Maverick and Ai were just waking up. They yawned and stretched before crawling out of the hole in the bottom of a large tree trunk.

"How's 'bout I help you look for your friends?" Ai suggested.

"That'll be great! Thanks!" Rune shouted happily.

"Man... am I hungry...," Maverick muttered. Suddenly, an apple magically appeared. "Sweet!" he shouted before eating it.

"...Are you sure you two aren't sky spirits?" questioned Ai.

"We're sure," Rune said with an amused smile, "Now let's- Ouf!" Ai and Maverick were silent at first when Rune fell in the mud, but then they started to laugh.

"I-I'm sorry, Rune! But that's funny!" Maverick laughed.

"Oh really?" she asked before pulling him in the mud too. The tow laughed then turned to Ai.

"Oh no... No!" They ignored her as they pulled her into the mud also.

"There! Now we're all muddy!" Rune declared before getting up. "C'mon. We need to go."

"Not so fast... intruder," said a voice. Several lemurs hopped down from trees and surrounded them. A fierce looking one with a crystal hanging from string around her neck glared at the tree. "This is our territory! If you don't leave, we'll have to make you leave!"

"Oh yeah?" Maverick challenged. Rune pulled him back and faced the crowd.

"We're sorry. We don't mean any harm. We came here to look for my family, but... our plane crashed and we got separated from our friends and my husband."

"Pft. Do you expect us to believe you came here on a plane? Only humans ride in planes!" one lemur said.

"Plus, we heard so many stories like that before," the female lemur said to them. "Why should we believe you?"

Rune sighed. "We're telling the truth!"

"Fine," the other growled. "If you insist on sticking to your ridicules story then I'll have to-"

"Wait!" Everyone looked up to see a lemur in the trees. He jumped down and landed in front of Rune. Rune's eyes widened. He looked almost exactly like her expect he wore a black scarf and had extra black marks above his eyes and on his paws and feet. He turned to Rune. "You said... you are looking for your family...?"

"That's right...," she muttered. The lemur smirked before wiping some mud off of Rune's face to reveal her matching brown fur and black marks on her cheeks and the tips of her ears. The other gasped.

"She looks almost like Renji," one said.

"This is weird," said another.

"Just who is this girl?"

Renji smiled widely before glomping Rune. "I KNEW IT!!! I KNEW MY DREAM WAS REAL!!!" The others muttered in confusion. He pulled back and got a good look at Rune. "You're my lil sister, aren't you? Well, of course you are! It's as clear as day! I can't believe you came!!" Again, the other gasped and became wide eyed.

Rune was shaking as she hugged him back. "W-Wow... I can't believe I actually found my brother...! My name's Rune. These are my friends, Maverick and Ai!"

"My name's Renji. This is my friend, Ferra. And the others are part of my kingdom!" he told her.

"You're...kingdom?" Rune repeated.

"Huh? You didn't know?" Renji asked, tilting his head, "Our dad's the king of a large group of lemurs in this part."

"I-I'm...royalty?! In all truth... that's pretty..."

"Cool? Awesome? Unbelievable?"

"...Weird," Rune finished. "So weird that it kinda gives me the hibby gibbies."

"Yeah, you'll get use to it...maybe," Renji told her.

"Huh... So Rune's, like, a princess or something?" Maverick asked. He turned to her. "Wow. Just imagine if you grew up here." The two thought for a moment. Both of them picturing Rune to be a brown, bossy, female version of Julien. The two shivered.

"Hey, wait! Isn't that the lemur we put into exile?" Ferra asked, pointing to Ai.

"Oh yeah. What are you doing with her?" Renji asked his sister.

"Exiled?" Rune repeated.

"Yeah. That's Back Luck Ai," Renji said, "Everyone believed she was the one ruining the kingdom because she brought bad luck. So, Dad was forced to exile her."

"That's not right!" Maverick shouted.

"Yeah!" Rune agreed.

"We'll deal with this later," Renji sighed, "Right now; Dad would love to see you! Ma came to him in a dream as well, ya know."

"I'm not going anywhere unless Ai can come," Rune said. Renji and Ferra exchanged glances. Renji shrugged and Ferra slapped her forehead.

"Sure. Why not?" Renji said. The three smiled. "Now let's go, go, go, go!" He grabbed Rune's hand and started to pull her away.

"Wait! I still need to find the others," Rune said.

"I'll send some of my subjects to look for them. C'mon! I wanna see Dad's reaction when he sees you!"

---

Ninj: Rune's a princess?? Yes, that is totally weird. I don't even know where I got that idea from. XP Is that too Mary-Su? I'd think so. Oh well. Oh, and yes. Renji is indeed, a women-chasing, ladies man. XD


	6. Shock

Chapter Six: Shock

Near by Rune and the others, Skipper, his team, Scout and the lemurs had spotted their friends.

"Hoover Dam! Rune and Maverick's been captured!" Skipper said softly, not wanting to be spotted.

"Oh no! That's the Western lemur's tribe!" Maurice shouted.

"Huh? How do you know?" Kowalski asked.

"Everyone knows who the Western lemurs are," Julien explained, "Just look how wild, savage and seriously serious they look!"

"Well, we need to save Maverick and Rune," Scout said.

"Agreed," Skipper muttered. He and the others jumped down. "Give us back our friends!"

"Oh, guys! It's-" Rune started.

"Don't worry, Rune. We'll handle this one," Skipper told her. Rune huffed.

"You dare intrude on my territory?" shouted a voice. An older lemur came out of some bushes. He was scruffy and his left ear was torn. His chest was slashed sideways with scars as well as his left arm. He had half a tail and it looked as if he had black Xs over his eyes. He pointed his only black paw at the group. "I suggest you leave now."

"Not until we get our friends back," Scout shouted. The lemur's black tipped ears flicked. He turned to his group and Rune laughed a bit, smiling nervously as she waved.

"My Sky Spirits! It's you, isn't it? You're my long lost daughter!"

"Yeah...," Rune said, rubbing the back of her head.

"King Darius is your father?!" both Maurice and Julien shouted as Mort grew wide-eyed.

"King!?" repeated the penguins and Scout.

Darius hugged Rune. "You've finally came home! After so long!" Rune smiled and hugged him tightly. Darius then pulled back and wiped off some dust from his shaggy grey pelt. "And why are you caked in mud?"

"Um... long story...?"

Darius laughed. "No matter! Come! Bring your friends and you shall all get clean and fed and- Is that Ai?"

Ai quickly hid behind Rune's foot. "Yeah," Rune said, "And I know she's 'unlucky' but can she please stay?"

Darius sighed. "The other will not like it, but..."

"Yay!!!!!" Rune shouted along with Maverick. "She's coming with us!!"

***

It was after they all were able to take a swim in the creek and eat when everyone was relaxed. Rune sighed as she leaned towards Kowalski and hugged him.

"I can't believe I found them...," she muttered, "This is just so great!"

"Attention, attention," Renji shouted suddenly, "Everyone party in calibration of our long lost Princess, Rune!" Everyone let out a cheer and Rune chuckled in embarrassment. Normally not too many people fuss over her. Renji ran up to Rune. "C'mon! Dad wants to talk!"

"Oh, alright," Rune said, not really wanting to leave Kowalski just yet. She placed a kiss on the side of Kowalski's beak before walking with her brother who gave her a funny look. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, looking away and smiling a knowing smile. The two then meant up with Darius who sat on top of a large tree branch.

"Hey," Rune greeted, "What cha wanna talk about?"

"I was hoping we could all talk and perhaps get to know you better."

"Oh," Rune said simply before sitting down. Renji sat next to his father across from her.

"So, Rune," Renji said, "What were those bird things and puffy foosas?"

Rune laughed. "Oh, Kowalski, Skipper, Rico and Private are penguins! They're flightless birds who live in the Arctic! ...Or the zoo as this case may be. As for Scout and Maverick; they're wolves."

"And was Kowalski the one who you were with?" Darius asked.

"Yeah."

"So, what? Is he one of your flings?" Renji asked, smiling, "Cause you siad you had a husband, right?"

"...Yeah... Kowalski _is _my husband," Rune told them. Their jaws dropped. "...What? ...Do I got a bug on me?!?!" she gasped, feeling around on her head.

"You're married to a flightless bird?!" Darius questioned in shock.

Rune froze and narrowed her eyes. "...Yeah... For quite sometime now.."

Renji's shock face twisted into amusement. "Wow... How could you two have kids?"

Rune rolled her eyes to the sky. "We adopted, or rather found, a son. His name's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, or Chip for short."

"Well, why are you with a guy like, ah, that?" Renji asked. Rune sighed.

"Because I love him with all my heart. He's kind and gentle and although he can be a bit crazy at times, he still cares for me and loves me dearly." Rune searched her father's face for a reaction, but it remained blank. "Oh! And he's really smart! He's a scientist!"

Renji glanced at his dad, waiting for him to reply. When he didn't, Renji did instead. "Oh really now?"

"...Ah, yeah...," she said, disappointed in her dad's lack of interest. "He made a plane..."

"What happened to it?"

"...Um... It crashed."

Renji burst out laughing. "Wow, he really _is _smart! Hardly anyone can make things crash now-a-days!"

"No one's perfect," Rune told him, crossing her arms. She looked at Darius and sighed. "Excuse me..." With that, she hopped down the branch and walked away.

"Yo, Rune! Wait up," Renji called, running up to her. "I'm sorry for Dad."

"Why is he being like that?" Rune asked, anger boiled in her chest. "You'd think he'd be happy for me! At least pretend to be for the daughter he just meant...!"

Renji laughed. "You're weird, in a funny way. I like you."

"I'm glad my brother does," Rune muttered, "But I don't think Dad does now..."

Renji placed his hand on Rune's shoulder, "Just give him time to accept it. I'm sure he'll come around and- Oh! Hot lemur at 3 O'clock! See ya, Rune!"

Rune stared in disbelief as her brother left her to go chase a random lemur girl.

----

Ninj: Aw, poor Rune! As if Darius's silence wasn't enough; Renji just totally ditched her. Why'd ya have to do it, Renji? Why'd ya have to do it?! TToTT (lol)

Hoped you all liked it!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven:

"It's like a hobby for him," said a voice. Rune snapped out of her state of disbelief and turned to see an old couple. One was a female ringtail lemur and the other was a male mouse lemur.

"Interesting hobby, I suppose...," Rune muttered, "I'm Rune."

"Oh, honey, we all know who you are," the female said, "You look so much like your mother."

"No she doesn't," grumbled the male. "And neither does that Renji kid."

The female sighed. "Whatever. Anyways, Rune Dear, you may call me Granny Nia and that's my husband, Ned."

"Ol' man Ned," Rune said out loud.

"Don't call me that."

"Why?"

"Cause I don't like it!!"

Rune placed her paws on her hips. "Well, life's full of things we don't like!" The two stared at each other for awhile until Ned declared;

"I like you." With that, he walked away but shouted over his shoulder with a smile. "You're better fun than your brother is."

Nia stared in shock, then she let our a warm laugh. "Wow! You truly are Skakira's daughter! Only she could make Ned like her."

"Rune smiled a bit. "Well, I just know how to handle people."

"That reminds me," Nia added, "Your Aunts, Uncles and cousins would love to meet you."

Rune nodded. "I will. See ya." _Huh..., _she thought as she walked away, _I wonder what those are..._

***

"Kowalski," Rune called when she spotted him and all their friends, "What are Aunts, Uncles and Cousins?"

"Are... are you serious?" he questioned.

"Afraid so," Rune sighed, feeling stupid.

"Oh c'mon, Rune," Skipper said, "Don't you remember when Johnson talked about his Uncle and Aunt?"

Rune thought back...

(flashback)

_"Oh yeah! Sweet!" Johnson shouted, pulling out money from an envelop. "My Aunt and Uncles are the best!"_

_ "What's an aunt and uncle?" Nicatia _(know as Rune now) _asked. She tilted her head as her giant ears flopped to one side._

_ "An aunt and uncle are penguins who give you money thinking you need it to pay off the military, but it's really spent on partying!"_

_ "...What?" Nicatia said, even more confused. She tilted her head so that it leaned on her shoulder._

_ "I'll explain more when you're older," he answered simply._

_ Nicatia tried to tilt her head even more, but ended up falling over due to the weight of her ears._

(flashback over)

Rune yanked at her ears a bit, happy that she somewhat grew into them. She looked at Skipper. "Oh, I remember, but all it does is lower my self-esteem."

"An Aunt and Uncle can be one of your parent's siblings or married to one," Kowalski told Rune. "And cousins are their children."

"Huh... I think I heard that before," she muttered, "And Grandparents are your parent's parent?"

"Right."

"Oh, okay," she said, nodding, still feeling completely stupid.

"Heeeeey~!!" shouted a voice. Everyone turned to see an Aye-aye lemur yanking a white lemur by the arm towards them.

"Oh, hello," Rune said politely as she smiled.

The aye-aye lemur tried to catch her breath. She had light grey fur and a very puffy tail. She looked young; About 13. She had black fur around her eyes, making her yellow eyes sparkle. "I-I'm Reggie. That's Star."

Star nodded to Rune, her red eyes on her the whole time.

"Oh my gosh! A terminator!" Maverick shouted in panic, seeing Star's red eyes.

"No, she's just albino," Rune said over her shoulder.

"Albino?" Maverick repeated.

"When you're born with no color pig mends, making her fur white," Kowalski explain, "And the reason why their eyes are red is because you can see the blood vessels through them, making their clear eyes appear red."

"Yep," Reggie said. "And she's one of you cousins along with her bro, Cloud... He's around here... somewhere."

"It's nice to meet you," Rune said kindly, "I'm Rune, as you already know. That's my husband, Kowalski, and my friends, Maverick, Scout, Private, Rico, Skipper, Maurice and Julien. Oh and I'm sure that freaky thing, Mort, is around here somewhere playing with Ai."

Reggie gasped. "Ai?! She's back?! But she's totally unlucky!!" Star rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her lower back. Reggie turned to her. "She is _too _unlucky! And you know it!" Again, Star rolled her eyes.

"Why is Ai considered unlucky?" Maverick asked.

"Duh! Haven't you noticed Ai has NO rings around her tail?" Reggie questioned.

"Yeah. So?" asked Scout.

"She's a pure ring tailed lemur, yet she has no rings! It's just bad news!"

"Pfft. You're logic isn't very...um… logical," Kowalski pointed out.

Reggie sighed. "Okay. Hear me out. No one knows where Ai came from. She has no parents that we know of too! And ever since she appeared, the Foosas have been getting smarter and smarter!" Star tapped her foot, annoyed. Reggie rolled her eyes thing time. "Star doesn't believe it, though. Either does Cloud."

"Why doesn't Star speak?" Maverick asked, curious. Star looked down at her feet.

"Star hasn't talked ever since... the Foosas took her mother," Reggie explained, "And her father died before she was born."

"That's horrorable," Private said sadly.

Reggie, feeling uncomfortable, changed the subject. "Hey, Rune! Why don't you sing for us?"

"Eh?!" Rune squeaked, totally caught off gaurd. "W-w-well, I don't know. I've never sang in front of a group this large." _Who I don't even know,_ she added to herself.

"Don't worry, Rune. I'll sing with you," Kowalski told her with a smile.

Rune smiled on the outside, but on the inside, she slapped her forehead. "Thanks." _Well..., _she thought,_ At least Kowalski will be next to me..._

---

Ninj: OMZ! I ACTUALLY UPDATED!! OWO

Ya know, you people really should comment. It gets me more motivated and gets the story up faster. :| lol And yeah... I couldn't think of a tyle for this chap. ^^;


	8. the song

Chapter eight

Rune took in a deep breath as she stood in front of the large adiounce. _Why must there be so many of them?_ Rune thought. She let the breath out. It wouldn't have been so bad if she knew most of those lemurs, but she didn't...

"Hey, Rune! Down here!" shouted Maverick as he waved his paw. Rune looked down to see him, Scout, Skipper, Private, Rico, Ai, Julien, Maurice, Star, Reggie and even Mort. They were all happily smiling up at her and Kowalski.

"You ready?" Kowalski asked.

"Y-Yeah...," she answered uneasily. "Why don't you pick a song and sing it first?"

Kowalski chuckled. "Oh, okay. Hmm... Let's see..." He paused for a momment before singing;

_ "I run from hate_

_ I run from prejudice_

_ I run from pessimists_

_ But I run too late"_

Rune smiled at him before she began to sing;

_ "I run my life_

_ Or is it running me?_

_ Run from my past_

_ I run too fast_

_ Or too slow it seems"_

Together, the two sang.

_ "When lies become the truth_

_ That's when I run to you_

_ This world keeps spinning faster_

_ To a new disaster, so I run to you_

_ I run to you, Baby_

_ When it all starts coming undone_

_ Baby, you're the only one I run to_

_ I run to you_

_ We run on fumes_

_ Your life and mine_

_ Like the sands of time_

_ Slippin' right on through_

_ Our love's the only truth_

_ That's why I run to you_

_ This world keeps spinning faster_

_ To a new disaster, so I run to you_

_ I run to you, Baby_

_ When it all starts coming undone_

_ Baby, you're the only one I run to_

_ I run to you_

_ Oh oh, oh I run to you_

_ This world keeps spinning faster_

_ To a new disaster, so I run to you_

_ I run to you, Baby_

_ When it all starts coming undone_

_ Baby, you're the only one I run to_

_ I run to you, I run to you_

_ Yeah_

_ Oh oh, oh I run to you"_

_ "I'll run to you girl_

_ Oh Oh"_

When the song was over, everyone clapped and cheered.

"Geez, thanks," Rune chuckled, smiling sheepishly.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Kowalski asked. Rune only laughed.

"I think they make a nice, um, couple," Renji said to his Dad.

Darius turned to Renji, startled that he was right behind him. "Renji? Weren't you out chasing girls?"

"Don't worry, I'll get back to that," he told his father. Darius gave him a blank look. "I don't see why you're so upset."

"Well, for one; You need to learn to commit to one girl-"

"No, I meant about Rune and Kowalski," Renji said bitterly.

"Oh," he muttered simply. Darius let out a deep sigh as he wrapped his arm around his son. "You know I only want the best for my family."

"Yeah."

"I want the best for Rune too."

"How do you know Kowalski isn't the best for Rune?" Renji questioned as he nodded over to the couple who was staring at eachother lovingly and holding hands. Darius's face softened.

"I... suppose you're right, Renji. But I still worry...."

"Don't," Renji laughed as he smaked his dad on the back, "Rune's already an adult and she's already married, so even if you don't or can't accept them, it's way too late to change anything!"

Darius blinked at him. "Son...? Did you... just give good advice?"

"I did, didn't- Oh! Hot babe at 12:00! See ya, Dad!" WIth that, Renji ran off to chase after another lemur.


End file.
